@Publisher I completely agree with the internships being vitally important. That’s why I started asking these questions. I was looking for first hand advice from someone who has kids at Grinnell who can help me understand how the career center works at Grinnell.
@MatzoBall: As they should. But I think this thread got focused on firms in industries mentioned by another poster.
Do you agree that Grinnell College is not a fit for every student ?
@homerdog: I understand & I understood.
No college is a perfect fit for every student. Seems condescending to ask the question.
I thought this article for the current Scarlet and Black might interest you.
http://www.thesandb.com/article/handshake-replaces-pioneerlink-for-college-career-search-process.html Also, while a large % of graduates go on to graduate school eventually, according to post graduate surveys around 60% a year go straight to employment.
Grinnell is distinctive in how hospitable it is to all kinds of kids in all their natural individuality. But I certainly agree it is not the right fit for every student; nor is every student the right fit for it.
I didn’t say anything about internships. Of course they’re helpful. Like most LACs, Grinnell is not in a city. Kids could work summer internships in Des Moines, the Corridor, or (a hike) in the Twin Cities, KC/SL or Chicago.
My point was, one shouldn’t say that Grinnell doesn’t do a good job of helping kids land jobs, based on the fact that so many of them move on to grad school. That is a choice; they aren’t forced into grad school. It reflects the intellectual nature of the student body.
But if a kid wants to get a job straight out of Grinnell, it’s highly likely they’ll be successful. It might not be in NYC, but in the Midwest a Grinnell degree is fairly well valued. (to the extent that hirers care about the name on the degree)
@prezbucky: I understand your thoughts & I understood your position. I just disagree based on my current experience with recent graduates.
As I wrote earlier in this thread, Grinnell College is great for those intending on pursuing graduate or professional degrees.
Fair enough.
According to Grinnell’s own survey of the class of 2017:
- About 59% of 2017 grads entered the workforce
- About 88% of those were employed full-time (about 8% part-time, about 3.5% did not report)
- About 34% of respondents reported salary data. Mean was about $48k (pretty good money for Iowa), median about $42k. The report rightly warns against trying to draw conclusions from this data.
So – yes, a fairly large percentage choose to remain in academia, but the vast majority of those who pursue work find full-time work. While most Grinnell grads choose different paths, there are some working in IB/Finance or at Google.
Grinnell is a humble powerhouse that doesn’t try or need to defend itself. It is a superlative, extremely well-resourced school for future doctors, lawyers, teachers, humanitarians, professors, scientists, geeks and innovators of all stripes, techies, quirky creatives and, yes, businesspeople. But you won’t find much of the bro culture of a Penn State or the wealth- and power-brokering/striving of some elite schools. Its influence and impact are rooted in core values that pervade the community. That’s a good thing. It is a refreshing alternative for many top students.
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Grinnell students interested in an immediate postgraduate business career should consider a certificate program available through Harvard Business School:
i’d like to add some stuff:
— ridiculous amount of support. i touched on this in a comment on another thread, but i wanted to reiterate it here. i swear, the amount of support offered here is unbeatable.
— the “come as you are” attitude is no joke. i’ve never in my life been so comfortable openly expressing traits about myself i deemed “taboo” while at home.
— intellectual and bright peers who care about learning as much as you do.
— the diversity. grinnell is so diverse for being “in the middle of nowhere.” i’ve met classmates from all walks of life: black, white, christian, muslim, gay, straight, transgender, non-binary, american, korean, etc. etc. i’m so privileged to be exposed to so many differing perspectives.
— the financial aid. i can’t tell you how many people i’ve had tell me they wouldn’t be here without the generous financial aid grinnell offered them. kids i’ve met in my class turned down schools like colby, brown, carleton, swarthmore, and others because of this.
— this may be an arbitrary point, but the people here are so freaking kind. it’s almost weird. i love it.
** also, the workload is intense but manageable. it’s the third day of classes, and i’ve already had to read a 300 page book for my GWSS class, take lengthy chemistry notes (outside of class), and do other homework for calculus and my tutorial class all while working in the dining hall for work-study and finding time to socialize and participate in extracurriculars. if you manage your time correctly, it shouldn’t be problem. it hasn’t been for me.
@kalons: Your posts have shown depth, intellectual curiosity and concern for others, qualities that will serve to enhance your college experience. Wishing you the best of luck at the excellent Grinnell!
To be clear, almost all of my comments in this thread focused on one student’s indication that graduate school is unlikely, and that student was inquiring about career opportunities in consulting or as an analyst–both positions which usually expect a masters degree after 3 or 4 years on the job. Grinnell is not the best place for this student as most Grinnell students do not rule out graduate school in the future. This means that job placement can be for experience required to pursue an MBA or a specialty masters degree. The Grinnell grad does not, therefore, need placement in a major employer such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Coca Cola, MBB consulting firms or Big 4 accounting firms because a graduate degree will give the credibility & knowledge to equip a Grinnell student to later pursue higher level positions after gaining work experience.
A student in a college or university in a major city or near Silicon Valley has very valuable internships, externships & co-op work opportunities at their fingertips.
Students at large, major national universities benefit from robust on campus recruitment activity for job placement as well as internships. externships & co-op work arrangements. Can a determined well disciplined Grinnell student make up for the lack of location & lack of on campus recruiting & lack of a large alumni base ? Maybe. But, as I have written above, Grinnell College is an excellent choice for one intending on earning a graduate degree.
Accordingly, my comments in this thread should not be viewed as anti-Grinnell, but, rather, as pro-fit. Finding the appropriate college for a particular student. Hopefully no posters here are trying to suggest that Grinnell College is a one size fits all school.
It is worth noting that a certificate program is available via online courses offered by Harvard Business School to seven (7) colleges including Grinnell College. This forward thinking affiliation addresses a real world deficiency of a liberal arts education by offering basic business courses online. Of course, only the students at one of the seven participating schools has access to Harvard’s placement & career counseling services.
While admirable, this is not a replacement for internships & dearth of on campus recruiting.
Other universities offer similar remedies. For example, Northwestern University offers a Masters in Science of Management Science created & taught by the renowned Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, The cost of the 10 month program is $82,000, but it is only available to Northwestern University graduates with less than one year of post undergraduate work experience. Graduates do have access to all Northwestern University career placement & counseling services.
Somewhat similarly Duke University offers a Masters in Business Foundations 10 month program–also at $82,000 inclusive of living expenses–for all comers who have a GMAT score. (Northwestern University waives the GMAT & GRE requirement for its program because it is available only to Northwestern University graduates–but it is subject to application approval which includes a required interview.)
Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business offers this MSMS option to NU recent graduates because it does not have an undergraduate business school–most major in economics. Graduates of this 10 month program then are eligible to apply to the one year MBA from Kellogg–which is a M-7 MBA program–after gaining additional real world post undergraduate work experience.
Duke’s Masters in Business Foundations is open to graduates of any accredited school in the US & abroad with a GMAT score in need of “business certification” from a prestigious university. About 35% are foreign students. Some students are recent Duke University graduates as this program also limits eligibility to those with less than one year of post undergraduate work experience.
The Harvard program --HBX–appears to be open to anyone including individuals with or without school sponsorship. Harvard’s HBX certificate program is available worldwide as it is offered entirely online; Northwestern Kellogg & Duke Fuqua are both on campus programs requiring class attendance.
As a final comment tying the Duke program (because Northwestern Kellogg is only available to recent Northwestern Univ. graduates) to one pursuing a liberal arts education is that the program can be justified economically for those finishing undergraduate school in three years and then use the tuition for the traditional fourth year of undergraduate studies toward the acquisition of a masters degree from a very prestigious–although not M-7 as is Northwestern Kellogg–degree… (For Northwestern University students, graduating in three years can be accomplished with diligent work & smart scheduling depending, of course, upon one’s major.)
Masters degrees are more respected & valuable than a certificate.
For Grinnell College students receiving grant money, the combined savings due to grants & graduating early would justify finishing school in 4 years with both a BA/BS from Grinnell and a Masters degree from Duke.
My son graduated in May 2018 from Grinnell. He is employed at a well known tech company. @homerdog - I will DM you with details.
Isn’t this a “Why Grinnell” thread? Confused by all the extensive comments about other programs. Kind of off topic, regardless of the “right fit” intentions.
Why Grinnell ?
Because the school has a healthy endowment & awards substantial amounts of grant aid to both US & International students.
The whole discussion about business careers should have occupied its own thread, but I am confident we can now return to the original intent of this thread as a place to share why Grinnell is many students’ and parents’ school of choice, and what folks especially appreciate about it.